The Abilene Christian football team moved Qua’Shawn Washington from running back to linebacker during the spring, and the Abilene High graduate is thriving in the new position.

Washington, who will be a sophomore in the fall, had a team-high 10 tackles and intercepted a pass in the Wildcats’ annual Purple-White Spring Game on Friday at Wildcat Stadium.

The 5-foot-10, 210-pound Washington was the District 3-6A Defensive Player of the Year his senior year at Abilene High. He also was a second-team all-district pick at receiver, and the Wildcats converted him to running back.

Washington carried the ball 13 times for 41 yards in 10 games for the Wildcats as a true freshman. He also had three catches for 1 yard. Adam Dorrel, who begins his second year as ACU’s coach in the fall, has been impressed with the way Washington has handled the move to defense.

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ACU’s Qua’Shawn Washington, right, and Landry Hutchins tackle receiver D.J. Fuller after a catch in the first half in the Wildcats’ spring game Friday, April 6, 2018 at Wildcat Stadium.(Photo11: Joey D. Richards/Abilene Reporter-News)

“He’s not the only kid we’ve moved this spring, but I think he’s the one that’s really taken off,” Dorrel said. “With our depth chart right now, he would be the No. 1 outside linebacker.

“He’s really transitioned well there. I tell you what, after three practices you knew. I saw him for three practices, and he looked like a seasoned vet running around. He looked really comfortable. He didn’t always look that way last year on offense. He was really swimming. I’m very proud of him. He’s thriving in that role and challenged himself to learn.”

Senior receiver D.J. Fuller had a big night for the offense, hauling in a game-high eight catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns, including a 70-yarder from Luke Anthony after Washington had picked off an Anthony pass earlier in the second quarter.

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D.J. Fuller, left, looks for running room after a catch as Brandon Richmond defends in the Wildcats’ spring game Friday, April 6, 2018 at Wildcat Stadium.(Photo11: Joey D. Richards/Abilene Reporter-News)

Fuller was academically ineligible last season, after leading ACU with 51 catches for 749 yards and six TDs in 2016.

Fuller’s speed will allow the Wildcats to stretch the field in the passing game, something they sorely lacked last season.

“D.J. is going to be a weapon,” Dorrel said. “I’m proud of him the way he’s bounced back, first off, in the classroom. He had a great fall last semester and he’s trending that way this spring. We move him around a lot. You’re going to have to so people don’t roll coverage to him, and we’re going to try to get it so they can’t always put hands on. To do that, he has to have a good football IQ, and he has a great football IQ.”

Anthony, who took over the starting quarterback job late in the season last year as a redshirt freshman, completed 20 of 28 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns. He had a 42-yard TD pass to Josh Fink in the fourth quarter, while he also had a 23-yarder to Fuller in the first quarter.

Taylor Williamson also kicked a 33-yard field goal in the third quarter as the offense beat the defense 24-22. The defense picked up 18 points by holding the offense to six three-and-outs in the spring game scoring system set up by the team, while Washington’s pick accounted for four points.

“I thought the first offense did a lot of really, really good things,” Dorrel said. “I thought our quarterback (Anthony) played well. I thought D.J. Fuller obviously played well. It’s great to have him back. I thought our tight ends made a lot of plays and were really multiple, really spread it out. I thought our first-team defense did some really good stuff tonight. Second offense, there’s some stuff we’ve got to fix there and learn from, and the (No. 2) defense played really, really well (Friday night).”

Eight players accounted for 70 yards rushing on 48 carries. Aaron Bunting led the group with 48 yards on 11 carries, while backup quarterback Sema’J Davis, a redshirt freshman from Midland Lee, had 29 yards on 10 carries.

ACU, which has had the worst running game in the Southland Conference the past two seasons, has been hampered by injuries to returning running back Tracy James, while transfer running back Billy Ray McCrary missed half the spring with a hamstring injury. Neither played Friday, and Dorrel said the team didn’t have a scholarship running back to work with during the last eight practices.

“I think we got better with the running game,” he said. “I know we got better on the offensive line. We hired a new offensive line coach (Mario Jeberaeel). He’s done a phenomenal job. That was very hard for me (to give up). I’ve done it my whole life. I’m so thankful that I did, and I’m proud of him. I’m glad he’s here. He’s brought a toughness to our offensive line.”

Overall, Dorrel said he was happy with the team’s spring workouts.

“As a whole, for 15 practices, a great body of work,” he said. “I thought it was exponentially better than last spring. I feel like we’ve gotten better as a football team.”

This is the second spring for Dorrel, who had only been on campus a few months before his first spring workouts last year. He had to hit the ground running, too, with signing day coming just two months after he was announced as the Wildcats coach on Dec. 19.

“It finally feels like it’s our football team, if that makes sense,” said Dorrel, who said this spring has been a lot more enjoyable. “The coaching staff, we’ve talked about that. We feel like it’s our football team now. I mean that in a positive way. It’s our second year with more kids we recruited.

“With that being said, you’re really getting to know the kids on a personal level. Man, last year, it was stressful with everything being so new. I didn’t have a lot of time to spend one-on-one time with the kids. It’s been fun for me because since we’ve gotten back in January I’ve tried to practice a lot of one-on-one communication with the players, even if it’s five minutes in the training room or eating lunch. Just really learning about our guys, and it’s been really cool.”